I enjoy turn-based games quite a bit as you may have guessed from my past reviews. The Warlords series is another of those game franchises that I’ve played in the past and is still in my library of PC games. With any series, I generally stop buying them after the second or third one comes out. No matter the enhancements or improvements, usually you’re looking at a rehashed game. In this case, I decided to review the fourth in the series since it had been quite a while from when I played Warlords III.
The premise of the game is fantasy based with you being a warlord who is trying to either take over the world or save it. Unfortunately that pretty much sums up the story line. The campaign game has you conquering ten of the thirty-two areas on the campaign map. Once the first ten are controlled, that pretty much ends the campaign. Unless you want the whole pie instead of the slice, you may continue to take all thirty-two areas. Online play and LAN play modes are available as well, if that is your cup of coffee.
Installation and setup are a breeze and only take minutes. Character creation is the same and very easy even for a beginner. About the only thing that you may find difficult is choosing the type of game you want to play. For the single player you have either the campaign or skirmish mode. If you like playing campaigns, then click and begin. Skirmish mode is as simple or complex as you want to make it. Picking the warlords, maps, ruins, and other options give you simple to very difficult skirmishes involving dozens of hours. Multiplayer options even add hotseat play and play-by-email. You can join or host your own games, and chat is available. If you lose your connection, resign, or quit the game, the AI will take over your units and towns, converting them over to neutrals. This means that other players can still continue on without ruining the game.
Playing either way, the game screen never differs except for the type of castle you begin with. This is based on your race selection, of which there are ten. You get five basic units plus the free hero you selected when the game began. What you find out fast is how weak they are after the first battles, so you must choose wisely young grasshopper. Kidding aside, the bulk of these units are basically cannon fodder until you make stronger ones. The interface is simple and difficult at the same time. By being difficult I am commenting on the difference between clicking the town versus the units. Also take into consideration that there are only two ways to rotate between your cities: click the back and forward buttons in the upper left corner or drag and click the mini map to get to the next one.
Combat is really no problem as it’s one on one. The only thing you need to do is pick a unit to begin, then watch the fighting. One thing though, make sure your range units are the last to go since they are able to attack without actually being in the main grid. Attacking a city without siege engines is asking for a major pounding on your units, since the city provides a tower for the defense. Another thing going against you initially is that all neutral units have a big question mark to make sure so you have no idea how powerful they are.
You can create garrisons, you can loot and plunder cities, and you can even burn them to the ground. Production wise, about all you can do in the way of building is to upgrade your castle and purchase more units. The warlord (you) can’t leave the starting city, but you can strike fear into opponents by casting spells from the safety of your throne. Everything takes money or mana. Be prepared for dry spells as your forces suck the financial life out of you. Being a ruler ain’t cheap from the looks of it.
All in all Warlord IV is not a bad game and can be quite enjoyable due to the simplicity of production. On the other hand I wasn’t too impressed with the combat system. First, you can’t retreat from a difficult situation- it’s all or nothing as they say. Since you have no idea how tough the units are if they are neutral, you either jump in and pray that you win or waste a unit scouting the enemy. On top of that it seems to be a race to keep the other side from getting rich. The more money you have, the better the outcome. As I see it, Warlords IV should have been called Warlords Light. To each his own preferences though and I hope you enjoy what I think is a casual game for those nights when you don’t want to strain the grey matter.
Father of two, now grown children.What are my kind of games? Strategy, RTS, RPG, Fantasy, Science Fiction, and online games such as Dark Age of Camelot and Asheron's Call. Of my dislikes I would say puzzle games such as Myth, FPS type games such as Doom. Also simulation type games, and games that are just plain bad.
My knowledge of the industry mostly evolves around beta testing games, such as Earth & Beyond from EA, Saga of Ryzom, and companies like MSN and Acolade. Self taught web design is another interest I have. Family life is entertaining at times. It also can get weird as well, after you have been married 31 years.
